COMMANDO News Magazine Edition 2 2020

U.S. Marines on rotation in Darwin who
kindly gave us their time, labour and
skills to begin to preserve and restore the
Rushcutter.
The association, Save HDML 1321,
which acquired the Rushcutter from the
owner for a nominal $2, continues the
work to move her to a relocation where
the restoration can begin. It remains an
open question where it might be
displayed once she is restored. But the
answer will flow from a bigger question
we need to ask ourselves as a community
and as a nation: why bother? Why all that
effort, time and money to save a ship
from the fate of other WWII wrecks which
litter Darwin Harbour and seas, channels
and harbours across the Pacific and Asia?
The answer is found on that island and
those jungle tracks where Mick and his
team fought and patrolled.
I continue to help as the patron of the association
because I see it as a debt of gratitude that we owed
the first Australian Commandos like the late Mick
Dennis, who passed away in 2015, and to his mates
who never came home and whom he called the real
heroes. These men performed extraordinary acts of
The Rushcutter was floated onto a 25 tonne custom trailer
and pulled up the WWII Catalina ramp.
bravery to save their fellow Commandos’ lives and
to protect Australians back home in such a total war.
That’s why we have a duty to restore and preserve
the Rushcutter for future generations, so that we can
teach our children about the real-life heroes who laid
down their very lives for all of us.
Commando For Life
The Save HDML 1321 Team.
52 COMMANDO ~ The Magazine of the Australian Commando Association ~ Edition 2 I 2020